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The Chimney Rock section of Chimney Rock State Park closed Monday for about 10 days while the N.C. Department of Transportation begins work to restore a one-lane washout on the main entrance road in the park.
The park was closed in late May when heavy rains from subtropical storm Alberto caused a portion of the road leading into the park and a retaining wall on the upper parking lot to collapse.
The park was closed for nearly two weeks at that time while state park rangers, Chimney Rock Management associates and contractors worked to clean up fallen trees, power lines and mudslides along the road and trails.
The park reopened to guests June 9. Since that time, staff have had to direct visitors through the one-lane area where the road collapsed.

N.C. Department of Transportation maintenance crews from Rutherford County will perform an emergency slide repair in the state park. Officials expect crews will need at least 10 days beginning Aug. 6 to rebuild the road. This project will restore both lanes of Chimney Rock Park Road when completed.
“This project is typical of repair work that we perform regularly,” Rutherford County Maintenance Engineer Matt Taylor said. “We’re essentially rebuilding a portion of the roadway slope that failed during recent storms.”
Work to fix the retaining wall on the upper parking lot is still in the planning phase. No timeline for this project has been announced. For the latest updates and news about the park reopening, visit ChimneyRockPark.com or call 828-625-9611.
The Chimney Rock section of the greater Chimney Rock State Park is US 64/74A in Chimney Rock.

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Much of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has been closed nearly three months due to hazards caused by frequent earthquakes triggered by collapse events at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano.

Although seismicity decreased over the weekend, the temblors – more than 18,000 in the last 30 days – have wreaked havoc throughout the park. Those magnitude 5.0 and higher riddle Highway 11, other park roads, overlooks and trails with dangerous sink holes and cracks. Jaggar Museum and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory buildings are damaged and stand empty. The summit crater, Halema‘uma‘u, has more than quadrupled in size as magma drains out to the lower East Rift Zone eruption outside the park. The new dimensions are staggering to those familiar with Halema‘uma‘u. Once 280 feet deep (85 meters), it is now more than 1,500 feet deep (457 meters) in places. Its volume has increased to 800,000,000 cubic meters, according to USGS, an amount equivalent to about 300,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Without lava pressure supporting the summit, large and sudden collapses reshape Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. More than 60 large collapse/explosion events have occurred since the park closed on May 11. The earthquakes also increase the risk of fire: broken waterlines have left most of the park without running water for fire suppression. Fixing them makes little sense as long as the earthquakes continue.

Scientists say the activity could last months, even years. Only when the destructive earthquakes subside will the park be able to fully assess damages, clean up the mess and develop a strategy to reopen.

“It’s impossible to say when the park can reopen, what it’s going to look like and what the visitor experience will be. We are cautiously optimistic that seismicity decreased over the weekend,” said Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando. “Everyone’s safety is our top priority and we are still in an unpredictable and hazardous phase of this eruption cycle. Right now, the only certainty is uncertainty,” she said.

Large sink holes and fractured asphalt on Highway 11 are being repaired by state highway workers, often necessitating one-lane closures and a reduced 25 mph speed limit. Government agencies are working together to create alternate and emergency routes should the highway fail.

But the fate of park features like Thurston Lava Tube are unknown because it’s too risky to send anyone inside to take a look.

“We miss being in the park, we miss sharing Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park with visitors from around the world and across the street. We realize the extended closure is very hard on our community and disappointing to travelers. It’s hard on all of us, and we appreciate everyone’s continued understanding and support,” Orlando said.

While scientists cannot predict exactly when the eruptive and seismic activity will end, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park invites everyone to explore how a volcanic landscape snaps back to life. In the park’s Kahuku Unit, gorgeous ‘ōhi‘a trees spring forth from Mauna Loa Volcano’s 1868 flows. Native birds, including crimson ‘apapane forage among the blooms. ‘Io, the Hawaiian hawk, and the short-eared owl, pu‘eo, are sometimes seen soaring above.

Ranger-guided hikes at Kahuku reveal the link between volcanoes and all life in Hawai‘i. On the two-mile Nature & Culture hike, visitors are inspired how hulihia (catastrophic change) and kulia (restoration) are correlated. Kahuku, which is located an hour’s drive south of the park’s main entrance, is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and entrance is free.

Rangers also offer new and familiar programs at the park’s Kahuku Unit, Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo, the Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village and other locations – free of charge.

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Firefighters are responding to multiple wildfires started by lightning in Glacier National Park.
The National Park Service says at least three fires were started Saturday night. The size of the fires has not yet been determined.
One of the fires is visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
A team of smoke jumpers as well have air tankers have been ordered to help fight the fires.
The fires are not threatening major tourist areas, and no evacuation orders have been issued for residents that live in the park.
Elsewhere, a rural subdivision in Madison County was evacuated because of fires in the vicinity. A Red Cross shelter was set up at nearby Ennis High School.
And lightning started seven new, small fires in the Bitterroot National Forest east-northeast of Conner.

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Evacuation Order
Evacuations are in effect for Lake McDonald Lodge, North Lake McDonald Road, and the Avalanche and Sprague Campgrounds. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed between the foot of Lake McDonald (near Apgar) and Logan Pass.

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A viewpoint reachable by a half-mile trail from a parking lot on U.S. 89 in northern Arizona provides a spectacular view of a dramatic bend in the Colorado River, but it has become maybe a little too popular.
Tour buses, vans, SUVs and cars disgorge thousands of visitors daily at Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, so many that authorities have imposed parking restrictions for safety, The Arizona Republic reported.
There's also a newly constructed viewing deck with a railing that provides a safer alternative than the sheer-edged ledge along the rock ridge that is hundreds of feet above the river. And another parking lot is the planning stages.
Visitors come from as far as China, Germany, France and Japan. Roughly 1.5 million people ventured to the attraction last year.
Officials for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area estimate that 2 million people will visit in 2018. Precise numbers aren't available because there's no entrance station.
Large tour buses are no longer allowed to park. They can only drop off and pick up passengers, according to restrictions that went into effect in June.
Visitors can no longer park along U.S. 89, a dangerous but common practice when the lot fills up. Drivers who can't find a spot in the lot must return at another time.
Visitors wander along the unprotected rim. There no trails leading down, just a sharp edge with solid ground on one side and empty air on the other.
Accidents are rare, but they do happen. That is partly why park officials approved a $750,000 project to build a viewing deck with safety railing, as well as gently sloping, ADA-compatible trails that skirt the high point of the ridge. The new path is slightly longer but easier to navigate.
The deck opened June 19, providing a safer way to view the canyon, though visitors are free to explore the ledge as they please.
The opening of the new trail was postponed to January 2019 as construction was suspended due to the summer heat. Work will recommence in September.
A second phase of improvements starts later this year when the City of Page begins construction of a new parking lot.
The project, now in the design process, will include 310 parking stalls for cars and buses, with a potential of up to 130 additional stalls, according to Kim Johnson, the city's community development director. She said work is expected to be completed by spring 2019.
The plans also include the installation of three booths to facilitate fee collection, Johnson said. The amount has yet to be determined, though officials are considering $10 for cars, $50 per small or mid-size bus and $100 per large bus.
Revenue is expected to be split between the National Park Service and Page.